The one-lane bridge shared by cars and trains 

I completely forgot to record my "thank you to Dunedin Railways" outro. It is a beautiful rail journey on the South Island: pull down the description for a link to their site!

Sometimes, things are *so* dangerous that they actually end up being safe - everyone treats it with caution!

I love that the train driver waved back. :)

"Trains and cars don't usually combine very well" I'd say they combine TOO well. Once they meet, it's hard to separate the two.

Thanks for such an incredible RU-vid channel Tom

Look at Tom being nice and waving at the train driver what a nice guy

0:16 That timing with the train horn! You look like you couldn't believe it yourself! ^^

I have a feeling you'd like Whittier Alaska. The only land access to the town is a 3 mile, single-lane tunnel, used for cars and trains in both directions. There are tolls and massive waiting areas on either end because the direction of the tunnel flips every hour.

This is one of those things that is very safe compared to suprisingly many things, precisely because it seems so dangerous and the hazard is clearly visible. Suprisingly, sometimes adding safety-elements is dangerous, because people tend to trust them more than they actually protect.

On this week's episode of Tom's holiday to new Zealand: trains

Until very recently, there was a shared bridge like this south of Greymouth on New Zealand's west coast. It wasn't just some rural town either, it was the main north-south highway where both the road and train track crossed the Taramakua river over a single bridge. It has since been replaced by separate bridges but it scared the crap out of me every time I drove over it because you're literally driving on a train track for a good 20 seconds with no lights or barriers to warn you of oncoming rail traffic.

This actually was a common occurrence on the west coast where the expected road traffic was light (given it was the 1930's when the roads were built) and you needed to minimize the number of expensive bridges across rivers. They are only in the last 10-20 years finally replacing the final major ones, with the Awatere Road Rail bridge (in Seddon, with it's rail over road design) only taking rail since 2007, and the two major ones on the west coast, Taramakau, which got turned into rail only last year, and Arahura which got replaced in 2009, but you can still go on a portion of the original span. Also good to see that at the end of the video you showed the way to go over such a bridge. You never drive on the rails, always to one side.

‘Trains and cars don’t usually combine very well’ - There’s an exception to every rule I guess.

Yay! My home town of Dunedin appears again. Always interesting to see how it's viewed by an outsider.

New Zealand can be quirky in places, but I absolutely love it. I have travelled over one road/rail bridge but a new road bridge has been built so it is now train only. Well done for showing us this one.

I seem to be the only one who’s impressed by Toms timing with just starting to talk and 20 seconds later the train coming out of the tunnel

Nice work nailing that piece to camera in one take! Pressure!

Can we just all stop for a moment and admire the perfect timing of the train coming out of the tunnel? :)

Dunedin ~ Dúnedain Guess New Zealand is really Middle-earth

Fully welcoming this channel becoming "The Weirdness of New Zealand Show"

I really love that I have watched tom scott for over 1 year now and still keep getting videos in my recommended that I haven't watched

Tom, I'm absolutely loving the series of videos you're putting out about New Zealand - I'm a Kiwi, but you're showing off parts of my country that I never knew existed!

Now Takumi can finally challenge the train driver from polar Express in an epic drift battle, pushing both characters to their driving limits

Grant Craig's wonderful Kiwi accent is mesmerizing. Thanks for the interesting segments, Tom!

Your videos are always either mind-boggling or heart-warming. Thanx a lot.

I had the privilege of going over that bridge on the train in February 2017 while travelling around New Zealand. If you're in Dunedin the Taireri Gorge Railway is a worthwhile scenic trip. There was another road and rail bridge at Little Current, Ontario where you go on to Manitoulin Island, until the railway tracks were removed many years ago.

It's a very acute-angled level crossing.

If trains were invented today, we'd never have had platforms without barriers in train stations. Much like this bridge, so long as you're careful it's not a safety hazard.

A new driving strategy, let the train win.

interesting stuff that we only see from you Tom keep going

The Taramakau Road-Rail Bridge is even bigger and longer than that. We went on it not knowing it was a thing, and you can imagine how baffled we were when our GPS told us "yes yes, that's the road you gonna take". It's a really unique driving experience in hindsight, but you're not 100% relaxed when you're on it! Luckily there were other cars in front of us, because I don't know if we would have drove on it otherwise. The trains rolling on it are no small ones too..!

Remember to always thank the train driver and be a good boi like Tom

"Level crossings are worse" Well if New Plymouth is anything to go by they're a hole in a fence so yes, I suppose they are 😅

That's so cool!! 👌

I can actually think of two more examples of shared train-car bridges: - Porthmadog, Wales: The Welsh Highland Railway enters and leaves along a short road running section across a bridge. - Preston, England: The Ribble Steam Railway crosses over a shared Road-Rail Bridge.

In 2002, I rode a motorcycle through the 2.5 mile long, one-lane Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel that connects Wittier to the rest of Alaska. It was tense riding between the two slots for the train wheels, and it was quite scary to ride unexpectedly, under the six, 75 horsepower jet engine-loud, air fans inside the tunnel, only a few of which were operating. The train schedule was not obvious before I entered the tunnel. And there was no traffic for me to blend into.

You did a video 5 years ago about a manual rail crossing in Canterbury. I realised it's close to my university campus, so I went and had a look the other day

the train coming into view over the hill is just - the most comedic image somehow

We have been on that train, they stop just after the tunnel to let passengers off to walk across the bridge so that you can take pictures of the train coming at you and then the train stops just around the corner so that the passengers can get back on. It's a very good trip with some stunning scenery. Dunedin station is worth a visit even if you're not traveling, the ticket hall is incredible.

This is the coolest bridge! It reminded me a little bit of the Anton Anderson Tunnel in Alaska, where cars and trains share a 4100m tunnel

How'd you get the cameras on the bridge to so perfectly pan to follow the train? They've gotta be motorized somehow...

I've visited New Zealand a couple of times. It really is a quirky weird country like no other and my God is it gorgeous.

The Taieri Gorge railway is a great day out for those who don't know it, very spectacular. There was a one-lane road/rail combined bridge at Connel Ferry near Oban (Scotland) for many years. Since the closure of the Ballachulish branch in the 1960s, it has been road only.

I grew up near one of these in Germany. It linked Anglia and Swansea. I'm not joking those are the two peninsula. I cannot imagine not having barriers to make sure there isn't a train coming the other way.

Tom should do a series called Amazing Potential Disasters.

Ah, a classic case of something seemingly dangerous making people cautions, making the thing actually less dangerous, than the safer seeming alternatives.

As dangerous as it sounds in concept, its great to see how peaceful this is in practice!

You basically live in New Zealand now Tom

Discovered your channel a couple of days ago, and Ive been binging the whole lot. Incredibly interesting stuff. Keep up the great work Tom.

I love these videos you're doing in NZ, I've been watching your channel for quite a while and the added bonus of seeing your videos about the country I call home thrills me :D

I am a Railfan in the US (I film trains) and it’s nice to see other countries trains.

Lucky to see this. They were common in the 90's. There were still a few road/rail bridges on the west coast when I was there in 2015, but when I visited again in 2018 they were all gone.

As soon as you said road/rail bridge I knew it was going to be NZ. they have many awesome ones up the west coast too but sadly they are separating them as traffic increases so the experience will eventually dry up

New Zealand drivers better be trained in handling this road, or they might be... Well, train'd.

My grandmother lives on an island with a one-way access road leading toward the bridge. There is an unspoken etiquette: no signs tell you to give a driver coming around the blind turn onto the inbound road a few moments to show themselves before pulling onto the road from the outbound side. Everybody who's been there a while just learns by seeing it happen, and the only time there are ever issues is when both drivers are both a) new enough that they haven't picked up on the fact that the unspoken rule gets everyone where they're going with the least amount of fuss and b) determined not to be the one to back down.

i love how train driver waved back at Scott, when that train was passing by

We always thank the bus driver, but noone thanks the train driver...

Not dissimilar to Connel Bridge near Oban. The bridge wasn't wide enough for both trains and cars, so it worked more or less like a level crossing.

That is a great train trip in the spring. The other train/car bridge in NZ is on a main highway, lots of traffic.

All bridges should be like that. I'm tired people driving into moving traffic and assuming it will stop.

Never expected a semi-railfanning video from Tom Scott, nice work!

"Sorry, I screwed up my line. Could the train come back and drive over again?"

Saw the title and thought to myself, "This is going to be in New Zealand isn't it?" Yep. We love our one lane bridges.

Yessss! that timing of the Trian was perfect! Thank you for having such attention to detail Tom!

That is cool!

Loving these videos from my home in NZ : )

Great to see you are enjoying your time in our fair land Tom! Having just returned from a holiday in the UK and Italy I'm very glad to be home and extremely grateful for the simple things New Zealand had to offer, including quirky train bridges and fruit based town monuments (Kiwifruit in Te Puke, Carrots in Ohakune, L&P Bottles in Paeroa). Keep up the good videos!

In Alaska, there is a small town called Wittier, and it's only road link is a single-lane tunnel, and it's shares between cars and trains.

Level crossings are worse... I can believe that, people will pay way more attention to this.

The train always has the right of way, even if it doesn't, it will make it's own right of way. The train never loses.

There's a bridge in Preston, Lancashire, UK next to the marina that's a swinging bridge and used by trains, yachts and normal road use

The Kazungula Bridge just opened last year on the border of Zambia and Botswana (and Namibia and Zimbabwe - 4 way border!) which is a shared rail/road bridge too.

I can imagine some action movie scene taking place here A car just making it through while a train is coming from other side

Good video! Hope you're having a great time here in NZ, Tom! Maybe you can do a video or two here in Wellington!

Always happy to see a new Tom Scott vid

Excellent. "A funny kind of level crossing." That's a good way to put it. I like the way this bridge is managed because it depends on people not being moronic. We need more of that.

At 0:24 my derpy brain read "Home of George Takei railway" for a second. Oh, my.

There's a swing bridge in Preston in the UK similar to that, Tom. Although as you say it has barriers and warnings.

There is a tunnel in Alaska connecting Whittier to Anchorage, the tunnel is the only road and railroad way into and out of the town of Whittier, it is called the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. the tunnel cuts straight through the middle of the mountain that separates the two cities.

Thanks for showing all these cool oddities Tom! The world is full of neat little features and you're allowing people to see them all.

The Taramakau Road-Rail Bridge south of Hokitika in New Zealand is an even weirder example of this

just one thing: How do you come up with all the ideas/places for your videos?! Do you have people researching for you? Anyways, keep up the good work!

More than the content itself, what amazes me the most his how Tom can seemingly get so much information out in what seems like one camera take. That's some expert level memorization right there.

Cars and trains stop for ships: The Lindaunis Bridge is a bascule bridge crossing the Schlei, an inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein, at one of its narrowest parts. The bridge is special in the sense that it is used both by the hourly local train travelling along the Kiel-Flensburg railway, and by car traffic. The bridge opens at most once every hour for ships.

Went over a few of these in Uganda, most of the trains in the country have stopped running now though.

FINALLY, a place where natural selection may continue... we need more places like this in the world :D

In Portugal we have a similar bridge still standing, the Jafafe Bridge in Sernada do Vouga. The train does go into the bridge *very* slowly, and I believe there are barriers, but still very cool to see.

That was such excellent timing for that take with the train. You only get one shot. Good work friend

I seriously hope nobody has been in a hurry and tried to go ahead of the train

0:04 "the rules are simple" YOU LAUGH YOU LOSE

Taramakau River bridge just south of Greymouth is a one way bridge with rail, and a major state highway for New Zealand, also with out barriers or lights.

1:08 I recall there was a bridge of this type in Novi Sad, Serbia, over the Danube, built after the previous one was exploded in the Balkan Wars, and decommisioned after the new bridge was opened.

How did they perfectly time the train horn with Tom's monologue??? Edit: 0:18

Tourists: Trains have right-of-way? Not on my watch! Also tourists: _Gone. Reduced to atoms_

There's a similar bridge in Wilderness, South Africa, used by the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train, although the line hasn't been used since it was damaged in a landslide a good few years back.

Enjoying the 'kiwi tour' Tom - being from the south island myself - it's nice to see!

You know you're lucky when both Tom and Ted-ed upload on the same day :)

No!! Tom your greying! Its ok we still love you no matter what ❤️

I crossed a bridge like this over the Danube river in Novi Sad, Serbia. A lot longer than there bridges, but it did have lights to prevent bad things from happening. They've built a big bridge a few 100 meters away in the last few years, so I don't think it will get much use now.

There is a bridge, just like this, north of Mora, Sweden. It is called Oxbergsbron. It is set to be demolished within the next few years, sadly, as it is reaching the end of its structural life. However the big difference is that it is the trains that have to give way to the cars, pedestrians and snowmobiles. The trains are actually stopped by the same kind of beams that normally stop cars at a railroad junction.